cases,
when such a tight ring has been cut from the hand, the present writer
has seen that the entire finger under the ring was an open wound,
occasionally a deep one.2
Throughout
Europe—England and the Continent— narrow gold rings are generally worn,
almost invariably of 22-carat gold ; among the poorer classes, the
standard falls to 18-carat—never lower. In the United States the
correct wedding ring is a 22-carat ring, but away from the
large cities and among their less prosperous inhabitants 18-carat rings
are worn to a considerable extent. These are often two, three, or four
times the weight of the European 22-carat ring, flatter and sharp on
the edges, thus cutting the finger. Frequently perspiration under the
ring will cause the finger to become sore and infected. The narrow ring
is more rounded on the inside and never infects the finger in any way.
Charges
of selling illegally stamped wedding-rings have recently been preferred
in a New York court. The proceedings were instituted under paragraph
431 of the Penal Law. The marking in one case was "14 Kt. Vio," this
having been stated to signify that nine-tenths of the metal was
14-carat gold and one-tenth of some baser metal. The real meaning,
however, appears to be that one-tenth is of 14-carat gold, the
remaining nine-tenths being alloy. The ring was found to weigh 72
grains, and on being tested at the United States Assay Office, the
fineness of the entire metal was determined to be 52/1000, equivalent
to a fineness of but 12-1/2 carats for the one-tenth
represented to be of 14-carat gold. The utmost variation from standard
permitted by the statute is one carat. The quantity of pure gold in
such a ring would only be about 3-3/4 grains, worth a fraction over 16
cents. The rings were sold for $3.75 and $4.________________
2 George Frederick Kunz, " The Etiquette of Gems," the Saturday Evening Post, June 27, 1908, p. 29.
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